SP Articles/Interviews/Reviews

James Iha
US Magazine
June 1997

Thanks to SPKristy@aol.com for the article

James Iha Smashing Pumpkins' lead singer, Billy Corgan, may get all the media attention, but it's the band's No. 2 man, guitarist James Iha, who has been making noise lately. In addition to strutting his glam-rock stuff at Anna Sui's New York fall collection this year, Iha, 29, recently launched the Chicago-based record label, Scratchie, with the Pumpkins' bassist, D'arcy. He is also planning his own solo project, due out next year. "[Billy and I] have similar ideas about what a good song is," says Iha. "But I tend to write quieter, more acoustic-y music." A product of the Chicago subburbs, Iha found his escape in rock & roll. "It was every teen-age boy's fantasy to play rock guitar," he says. "It puts you in your own little world." Iha went on to study graphic arts at Loyola University, where he met Corgan. "We played together for nine months before we got anybody else to play with us," Iha says. Flash forward nine years, and the Pumpkins are proud owners of two multiplatinum albums, a Grammy, and some of MTV's most innovative videos. "It's nice, but it's not like we're at the top of our game," says Iha. "We hope that what we do next could be even groovier, even cooler."

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